Apparatus for adjusting the directions of guns.



R. GI'RARDELLI.

APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTING THE DIRECTIONS 0F GUNS.

APPLICATIQN FILTD MR. 9| 1914.

Patented Feb.22,1916.

RICCARDO GIRARDELLI, 0F ROME, ITALY.

APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTING THE DIRECTIONS 0F GUNS.

Specification 'of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

Application filed January 9, 1914. Serial No. 811,252.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, RICCARDO GIRARDELLI, a citizen of the Kingdom of Italy, residing at Rome, Italy, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Adjusting the Directions of Guns, of which the following is a specification.

The subject matter of this invention is an apparatus for adjusting the directions of guns, which, by adjusting the direction and elevation of one of these guns, enables l a second gun to be simultaneously and automatically directed upon the target.

The invention willbe described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan View, partially in section, of the apparatus forming the subject matter of this invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow with certain parts in a different position, and Fig. 3 is a triangle showing the relative position of the two guns and the target.

In Fig. 3 the point 1 denotes the station of one of the guns, the point 2 the station of the other gun, and the point 8 the position of the target. The two guns are supposed to be pivot guns. To adjust the direction of the gun mounted lat the point 1 (which will be hereafter denoted the primary gun) an electromotor A is employed, and to adjust the direction of the gun mounted at the point 2 an electromotor B is employed. It is also assumed that the direction of the primary gun is effected from a distant observing station through the medium of an electrical controlling apparatus operated from a distance, and that the transmitter (not shown), located at the observing station, is provided for example with the apparatus described in the copending application dated Sept. 24, 1910, Serial No. 583,642. This transmitter is connected by a three phase conductor C with the `motor A which serves to adjust the direction o the primary gun.

The directing mechanism of the primary gun consists substantially of a Vworm wheel D mounted coaxially with the axis of the pivot, and worm e1 mounted on the shaft E of the motor A and gearing into said worm wheel D. The shaft E also carries a second worm e2. This latter gears with a worm wheel F, which is rigidly mounted on a column F1 carried in a frame 'G and formed with a longitudinal slot f2, and the conditions are so arranged that the column F1 and the worm wheel D must rotate in the same direction and through equal angles. The point through which the axis of rotation of the column is projected in Fig. 1 is denoted by l.

Underneath the column F1 there is pivotally mounted, by means of a pin g1 an arm I-I formed with a longitudinal slot 71,1, the axis of the pin g1 is parallel with the axis of rotation ofthe column F1 and is projected through the point 3 in Fig. 1. An arm f3, extending in a radial direction, is so mounted on the lower end of the column Fl, that the angle which its direction forms with the fixed direction l', 3', is always equal to the angle which the plane of elevation of the gun, projected along the straight line s, s1 in Fig. l, forms with the fixed direction l, 2. If the frame G be so arranged, as is assumed in the drawing for the sake of clearness, that the fixed direction 1, 3 is parallel to the tixed direction 1, 2, the direction of the arm f3 must consequently be always parallel with the straight line s, s1. Upon the arm f3 is mounted a movable sleeve J, which is provided on its underside with a pinl 1, which enters a corresponding boring in a sliding piece K guided in the slot h1 in the arm H. The point' through which the axis of the pin 1 is projected in Fig. 1 is denoted by 2.

The sleeve bears, under the pressure of a helical spring M which tends to thrust it inward, with a roller 2 against a cam N, which is mounted between the side boundary walls of the slot f2 and pivotally mounted on the column F1 by means of a pin f4. Above the cam N there is pivotally mounted on the column F1, by means of a pin f5, a flat bar P, which is suitably connected to the barrel of the primary gun, for example by means of an electrical controlling apparatus, not shown, operated from a distance, so that it always possesses the same elevation asthe gun barrel. The flat bar P is connected by a connecting rod Q to an arm nl on the cam N, which is so arranged. and ofsuch dimensions that a pivoted parallelogram is formed and the cam N therefore compelled to always rotate through the same angle as the flat bar or the gun barrel.

:As will be seen from the above description, the length of the distance 1, 2 :is obviously dependent upon the elevation of the barrel of the primary gun or else on the distance ofthe target corresponding to this elevation. Thelaw, according to which the length of the distance 1, 2 varies with the distance of the'targetis determined lby their: S0 i chosen that the length of the distance 1, 2

shape of the cam N. This shape is is inversely proportional, within the lire limits concerned of the primary gun, to the distance of the target for which the primary gun isadjusted, and moreover is based upon a proportionality factor which isequal to the product of-.the (invariable) proportional numbers of the distances 1, 3 and 1, 2.

, The arm H is provided with a toothed sector k2, engaging with a spur pinion 11, which is mounted on the switch shaft R of a transmitter g2 mounted on the frame G. This transmitter is constructed in a similar manner to the transmitter located at the observing station, and communicates through a three phase conductor T with the motor B, which acts as a receiver and which serves to drive the directing mechanism of the gun mounted at 2. The motor B is a double motor andhas two independent rotors, one of which can be rotated through the same angle as the shaft E of the motor A by means of the transmitter situated at the observing station through the medium of the conductor C and a'conductor C1 branching olf therefrom. The angle of rotation' of `this rotor is therefore proportionally equal to the lateral angle of rotation of the primary -gun.

The second rotor can be rotated by the transmitter g2, through the medium of the conductor T, through an angle which is proportionally equal to the angle of the switch shaft R of the transmitter, or the angle'of rotation of the arm H The angle of rotation of the switch shaft R and consequently also the angle. of rotation of the second rotor 1s proportionally equal to the angle 1-3-2 indicated by character Y, between I the center line of the arm H and the center line connecting the centers of pin g1 andy column and shaft R; it being assumed, as shown 1n Fig. 2, that the shaft R has its zero-positionof rotation, when the two center lines referred to, are situated in the same vertical plane. The two rotors aresuitably connected, by means of a differential gearing for example, to the shaft U of the-motor B (which is adapted, by means of a Worm u1 mounted thereon and a worm wheel V gearing therewith and coaxial with the axis of movement of the rotors of motor B is trans-SV :mitted V:in known manner to the shaft U inV V'such aV manner, that the angle of rotatlon of the shaft U,.is equal to the algebraic sum of two angles, oneof1 which is proportionally equal to the angle of rotation of the first, and ther-other to the angle of rotation of thersecond rotor.

The angle of rotation of the shaft U and the angle of rotation of the gun mounted at thepoint 2 proportionally equal'thereto, is therefore equal to the algebraic sum of two angles, one of which is proportionally equal to the lateral angle of rotation of the primary gun, and the other to the angle 1-3-2. Ylt is therefore directly possible, so to arrange the conditions, 'as assumed here, that the lateralangle of rotation of the gun mounted at the point 2, measured from the d1rect1on 1, 2 1n a clockwlse sense, 1s

'equal to the algebraic sum of the lateral angle of rotation of the primary gun, (measured from the same direction and in the same sensei and the angle'1-3"-2.. If the angle of rotation of the primary gun be denoted by cz, the angle of rotation of the gun mounted at the point 2 by and the angle 1-3-2 by Y, the following relationship consequently exists:

a -l- 'y'.

The apparatus herein described is used in the following manner. The transmitter situated at the observing station is first adjusted to correspond to the direction te be imparted to the primary gun. The adgustment imparted vto this transmitter is `transmitted through the medium of the conductor C to the motor A, and from this latter through the medium of the shaft E and the worm gearing e1 D to the primary gun in such a manner that this latter is directed upon -the target.` The straight line s, .s1 then coincides with the straight line 1, 3, see Fig. 3, and

At the same time the column F1 is rotated by the worm gearing e2 F. Since during this rotation the direction of the arm f3 is permanently parallel with the direction s, s1, the angle 31 2 is therefore After this the elevation corresponding to the distance 1,3 of the target is imparted to the barrel of the primary gun, which operation may be accomplished also by electrical means for example from a separate transmitter situated at the observing station. Simultaneously with the gun barrel, the flat bar P also has the same elevation imparted to it, the sleeve J being adjusted by means of the connecting rod Q, and the cam N, according to the above statements, to the distance The triangles 1-2-3 and 1-2-3- are consequently similar, since they agree in one angle and the ratio of the adjacent sides. Consequently in particular The rotation which the arm H has undergone during the rotation of the column F and the adjustment of the sleeve J, simultaneously caused the switch shaft R of the transmitter g2 and the rotor of the motor, B, which is connected thereto by the conductor T, to be moved. The other rotor of the motor B has already received its adjustment through lthe medium ofthe conductors C and C1, during the adjustment of the transmitter which is mounted at the observing station and serves to adjust the direction of the primary gun. In co-nsequence of the adjustments imparted to the two rotors, the gun mounted at the point 2 has imparted to it, as abo-ve described, a direction whi'ch is determined by the angle The direction w, w1 of the gun mounted at the point2 must therefore coincide with the line 2, 3 (see Fig. 3), since the angular distance of the line 2, 3 measured from the direction 1, 2 in a clockwise sense, that is to say the external angle of the triangle 1, 2, 3 situated at the point 2 is likewise equal to The gun mounted at the point 2 has therefore been directed upon the target.

v If in addition to the gun mounted at the point 2 other additional guns are to be d1- rected laterally upon the target, this may be naturally acco-mplished by providing for each of such guns a separate apparatus of the same kind as that for the gun mounted at the point 2.

I claim:

l. In an apparatus for directing a secondary gun upon the same target simultaneously with and in consequence of the laying of a primary gun; a training device (C A E e1 D) and an elevating device for the primary ously with and in consequence of the laying,

of a primary gun; a training device and an elevating device for the primary gun; a'

training mechanism for said secondary gun; a distant controlling device comprising a receiver, atransmitter and a conductor between the two, said transmitter having driving connection both with said primary training device and said primary elevating device; a second conductor for said receiver connecting it with said primary training device for imparting angular adjustment to the secondary training mechanism independent -of said `transmitter but proortionally equal to the angle of training given to the primary gun.

3. In an apparatus for directing a secondary gun upon the same target simultaneously with and in consequence of the laying of a primary gun; a training device and an elevating device for the primary gun; a training mechanism for said secondary gun, adistant controlling device comprising a receiver, a transmitter and a conductor between the two; said transmitter having connection vwith a mechanical triangle, one side of which being fixed as'to length and direction, another side having connection with said primary training device so as to always form an angle with said fixed side, of the same magnitude as the training angle of the primary gun; said other side also having connection with said primary elevating device whereby the length of said other side is adjustable according to the distance between the target and the primary gun; said transmitter connection thereby imparting angular adjustment to the transmitter proportionally equal to one of the other angles of the mechanical triangle a second conductor for said receiver connecting it with said primary training device for imparting angular adjustment to the secondary training mechanism independent of said transmitter but proportionally equal to the angle of training given to the primary gun.

In testimony whereof I have aixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RICCARDO GIRARDELLI.

Witnesses:

DOMENICO CATTRO, PASQUALE PIRR. 

